Both artists possess in spades the ability to make affecting, heavyweight emotional music. This emotional intensity and willingness to continuously explore the possibilities of sound (heavy or otherwise) is what May Our Chambers Be Full pivots around over the course of these seven incredible songs.

Glitch Princess certainly isn’t an easy record to listen to, yet neither is it wilfully difficult or unwelcoming. It’s perfectly emblematic of the pop period we’re living in, with a new generation of artists changing the meaning of what it is to make pop music on their own terms.

Hell-On is a good demonstration of just how great she’s become.

Two Hands is a good album, albeit one labouring under a slight sense of anticlimax given what has gone before.

Overall, Matthew E White and his Spacebomb house band have created a brilliant debut, one that will undoubtedly have artists queueing up to be a part of this newly established project.

While the theme of the album may be dedications to others, what Mehldau has ultimately crafted is an ode to the confidence, style and precision of his own trio's playing, displaying all the panache and charm of old companions reuniting once more.

To use an oft-heard cliché, Fir Wave is a life-affirming album – in the broadest possible sense. It celebrates natural phenomena that exist beyond our own life spans, to be present (we hope) long after we have departed.

Coral Island is an ambitious record that never topples under the weight of that ambition. Unusually for a double album there’s barely any filler and the songs have a timeless quality that keeps you returning. At the end of their second decade, The Coral have released the best album of their career.

Home Video is also Dacus’ most immediate, accessible album to date. While the general tone is quite downbeat, but she can switch to crunchy power-pop on tracks like Hot & Heavy and First Time.

As with all Björk albums there’s a lot to unpack and it requires several listens before it all begins to fall into place but, once done, there’s a case to be made for this possibly being the best Björk album (and certainly the most animated) since 2011’s Biophilia certainly in terms of breadth, aesthetic and overall engagement.

What she does best is create that sense of urgent euphoria, and that is all still present and correct on The Comeback Kid.

Some may find the relentlessly downbeat tone a bit hard to wade through, but it’s done with such a lightness of touch that it becomes almost uplifting. The journey to Leslie Feist’s sixth album may have been a long, eventful and sometimes troubled one, but the destination is as rewarding as ever.

Musically it ranges from coruscating to eerie, from ominous to plangent and sees the quartet operating at the height of their powers. It’s a hard-hitting, ambitious album that only serves to further consolidate the reputations of all involved.

This Stupid World sees them further consolidate their position as alternative treasures.

At times, it is a little overwhelming over the 17 tracks, but there are plenty of beautiful moments here, the sort of moments which continue to propel BOC well ahead of many of their IDM contemporaries.

It may not be leaps and bounds ahead of previous St Vincent releases, but this is a rich and multi-faceted album to pay close attention to.

Loom is an intense record, full of feelings of loss, confusion and angst. It’s also an early contender for best electronic album of the year.

The music throughout MONTERO suggests that Nas X has a very bright future ahead of him.

So minimal and calm is much of The Harrow & The Harves that Six Horses comes as something of a shock. It displays the same studied but honest approach to American folk music that characterises the whole album but adds harmonica and, yes, handclaps!

Lizzobangers is a triumphant album by an extraordinary artist and woman, whose girl-empowering lyricism and social consciousness puts her at the top of the underground and alternative hip-hop community.

Bonxie doesn’t contain too many surprises, and it doesn’t really have many answers to the bigger questions, but it does have a number of brilliantly written songs.

Lithics have made what is surely one of the most sincerely bracing albums of the year.

Overall, I Don’t Live Here Anymore is a solid addition to The War On Drugs canon, and the full-on embrace of heartland rock means they may well find a whole new audience with this album.

Despite the often heavy lyrical content, Lucky Me mostly sounds light and fresh – with perhaps only Leach’s self-loathing becoming a bit oppressive towards the end of the record.

The National have pulled off a neat trick here - an immediate, commercial album that grows with each listen. While High Violet is patently as good as its antecedents, it is also very much its own beast.

If there's one thing it proves, it's this: Goldfrapp are an exceptional singles band.

This is easily Beyoncé’s best album yet, a clear progression from her previous work and a musical triumph.

An album of gorgeous, lush songs.